World War II Honoree

Mario Galletta

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Oswego, New York

Honored By

Stephen Mathe

September 1941-September 1945. Flew 35 missions (most over Germany) as a waist gunner in a B-17 Flying Fortress. Though he flew in various B-17 aircraft at first, he eventually became a permanent in the bird 'Hotter than Hell'. The entire crew survived the war, but once had to bail out over France after the engines simply wore out carrying 1000 pound bombs in support of Patton's forces. On a shuttle-drop mission to Warsaw they were hit and continued to Russia for repairs. Awards include Air Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters.